Unseen Among the Dust
by LoonRider
Summary: Shotaro Hidari loves Fuuto. It's peaceful and quiet, and he has a job there that allows him to help anyone who needs it. But is the Fuuto he loves the same Fuuto he's meant to be in? When the novice detective and the young student meet, the ripples from their meeting show them both that something is very, very wrong.
1. Chance Meeting

**So this was originally the oneshot for the 'Introduction' theme in my 100 Themes Double collection. Unfortunately, I thought of it at work, so I had several hours for it to go completely out of control. Oops. **

Spoilers: Let's just say if you haven't seen the whole series, this isn't going to make a lot of sense.

#

Shotaro Hidari loved Fuuto. There was something about the city's environment, its ever-present wind, that made him feel at home. Even though his parents had moved away several years ago, while he was still underage, he'd stayed behind, living in a small apartment connected to the detective agency he worked for. The arrangement was dependent on near-daily calls from his mother checking how he was, but he was happy.

He'd just finished a case, one of those rare ones that he was allowed to handle on his own, and was on his way home with the payment of a grateful client. Completing a case always left him happy, even one as simple as this one had been: the recovery of a lost engagement ring. He'd even been lucky enough to watch his client propose to his girlfriend, and her tearful acceptance.

Pausing in the middle of Fuuto's market, he smiled and shook his head. "Maybe I should tell Akiko about that. It's the sort of mushy stuff she likes." The young woman had turned up at the agency a year ago, and even if she drove him completely bonkers most of the time, she was nice to have around. He'd grown up an only child, so it was interesting to see what it would've been like with a bratty little sister to take care of.

His train of thought was interrupted, quite roughly, when a passerby speed-walked right into him, almost knocking the both of them over. Shotaro staggered, recovered, and faced the offender, who was kneeling to retrieve several books that had scattered. "Hey, watch it!"

"Ah, sorry! I'd just found this really interesting part..." The young man spoke without looking up, and Shotaro noticed he was wearing a high school uniform... the colour was that of a prestigious private school. A teenager from a rich family, then. The young detective switched tactics and crouched to grab the last book, handing it to the boy.

"That's okay, but you really should watch where you're going."

"Thank you." The boy took the last book and stacked it on the other two, both he and Shotaro returning to their feet. Shotaro couldn't help but notice that while the boy's uniform was meticulous, his black hair was an absolute mess. It looked like whoever had cut it had been on a caffeine high. He realized he was staring when the teenager tilted his head. "What is it?"

He cleared his throat. "No, nothing." His eyes went to the book's spines, their titles. Two were on law practice in North America, and one was about wildlife in Siberia. "Why were you reading and walking at the same time?"

"They're just really interesting..." The boy's eyes went to Shotaro's jacket, and he pointed. "Your paycheque's about to fall out."

Shotaro looked down. The brown money envelope was halfway out of his inside pocket. "Oh, crap!" He shoved it back in. "Thanks. It's not really a paycheque though... it's a client's payment. Goes to my boss." Around there was where he realized he hadn't introduced himself. "Oh, sorry. I'm Hidari Shotaro. I work for the Narumi Detective Agency." He offered his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Hastily shifting the books to his other arm, the boy reached out to shake Shotaro's hand. "Nice to meet you. My name's Sonozaki Raito."

Shotaro couldn't help his mouth falling open a bit. "Sonozaki? The family that owns Fuuto Museum?" Among a dozen other businesses in the city. No wonder the kid was in private school.

"That's right. My parents and oldest sister do most of the work there, though." That much Shotaro knew. The Sonozaki family's second daughter, Wakana, was Fuuto's prime radio personality. He was about to mention that when Raito's phone rang, and the boy fished the lime-green cell out of his pocket. "Hello? Sis? Yeah, I know, I'm on my way..." He pressed the phone's mouthpiece against his shoulder and bowed slightly to Shotaro. "Nice meeting you. Sorry, I have to get going."

Shotaro smiled. "It's fine. Nice meeting you, Raito." He could've slapped himself. Why the hell would he call the kid by his first name after just meeting him? Raito didn't seem to care, though, and smiled before turning and walking away, on the phone once again.

He returned to the present when his own, black cellphone rang, and he picked up. "Hello?"

"Shotaro!" Go figure. It was Akiko. "Aren't you on your way home yet? Dad ordered lunch, and I'm gonna eat yours if you're not back when it gets here!"

"Oy, Akiko! You do and you'll regret it! I'll be home in a few minutes!"

He dodged other pedestrians as he continued on his way, still in a bit of a shouting match over the phone. For the briefest of seconds, though, he looked over his shoulder. He didn't know why.

And he was too far away to notice, but Raito Sonozaki, in the same moment, had looked back too.

#

Whew! Hammered this out in less than an hour, go me. Don't worry, all, Lost Blue is still in the works. Now that I've got this out of my skull, maybe I can actually get progress on it.


	2. Little Things

**Wrote almost all of this on my phone. This is what happens when your computer decides it really doesn't want to work for you at all for about 24 hours.**

#

Shotaro arrived at the agency just as the delivery man was leaving. Looked like they'd ordered from his favourite ramen place, even more reason to go after Akiko if she did end up stealing his lunch. He pushed the door open. "I'm home."

"You're late," Akiko sang back, grinning at him from the office's small dining table. She was already eating out of one bowl, and she tapped her chopsticks on a sealed bowl in front of the other chair. "You're lucky I'm just too nice, Shotaro."

He scoffed. "More like you know what I'd do if you touched my lunch." Giving her a poke in the forehead as he passed on his way to the desk, he withdrew the envelope from his pocket. "Here, Boss, the payment from the case."

Soukichi Narumi barely glanced up from his own ramen and the file he was perusing. "Keep it, Shotaro." When Shotaro blinked in confusion, Soukichi raised his eyes to meet his apprentice's. "It was your case, wasn't it? You earned it."

"Right..." Shotaro pocketed the money again and couldn't hold back a grin. "Thanks, Boss." He sat across from Akiko and peeled the lid off his ramen.

For a few minutes, Soukichi returned to the case file and let Shotaro eat, but then he spoke again. "How did it go, by the way?"

Shotaro swallowed and set his chopsticks down. "Really well. I found the ring in time. She accepted and he tried to invite me to the wedding."

"You said no, right? You'd ruin a wedding's atmosphere." Akiko spoke so matter-of-factly that Shotaro bristled. This little brat...

"I did say no, but that wasn't the reason!" He scooped up more noodles, and some of the soup splashing across onto Akiko's hand was surely an accident.

She let out a horrified squeal anyway. "See, that's what I mean! I don't want you anywhere near me on my wedding day!"

He snorted. "Right. Like any guy wants a spaz like you for a wife."

Her mouth hung open for two seconds before distorting into a pout. "Dad, why'd you have to take such a rotten guy as an apprentice?"

Soukichi sighed, eyeing his daughter and apprentice. "You two should try to get along. You're scaring all the flavour out of the food."

"You mean he is," grumbled Akiko, and Shotaro resisted the urge to kick her under the table.

Instead, he looked out towards the window, his eyes inevitably catching on the hooks above his boss' head, where the detective's favourite fedoras hung. Shotaro blinked. Something was wrong. "Boss, isn't that white one your favourite? When did the brim get torn?"

Both Soukichi and Akiko looked up, but it was Akiko who answered, head craned around to see the hats. "What're you talking about, Shotaro? The hat's fine."

He looked again. She was right. He could've sworn there was a chunk torn out of the brim... But it was whole. "Oh... Must've been a trick of the light, I guess."

"Maybe you need glasses." Akiko frowned.

"I do not." There was no bite behind Shotaro's retort. He glanced at the white fedora again before returning to his lunch. He'd definitely been imagining it.

~~~

Raito greeted several members of the house staff when he entered the Sonozaki mansion. He tried to remember all their names, especially when someone new was hired. It was polite, of course, but it also helped him keep his memory sharp.

"Raito!" Barely three steps into the door, he nearly jumped out of his skin as his older sister stormed towards him. "What took so long? I thought you got off school early today!"

"I did! I went to the library…" He waved the books in his arm a bit for emphasis. It had struck him as odd that Wakana had sounded so urgent when she asked if he was on his way home yet when she called him. "Was there something I forgot, sis?"

Wakana Sonozaki let out a long, annoyed sigh, and pressed her hand to the side of her head. "Oh, Raito… it's the radio manager's birthday today, and I asked you to come to the work party with me! You need to get out more!"

Oops. All the memory training in the world wasn't going to help him now. "Ahh… sorry, sis, but there's a big exam next week, and I haven't studied much…"

Wakana laughed, reaching out to give her little brother a shove on the shoulder. "If you don't want to go, just say so, Raito. We both know you read so much you could pass a test on anything." She walked past him, headed for the door as she called over her shoulder. "I'll forgive you this time, but if you don't get your nose out of those books, you'll never get a girlfriend!"

Raito glared as the door clicked shut behind his sister, and he tried to ignore the burning in his cheeks. "Shut up." Gripping the books tighter, he headed for the mansion's library. He did have an exam coming up, but he had to admit he was glad he didn't have to go to the party. He loved his sister and her radio work, but crowds bothered him.

He set his three library books on one of the tables and began scanning the shelves. America. Law. Justice. He was sure there were some books on it…

His hand paused on a black, leather-bound spine with no title on it. Narrowing his eyes, Raito pulled it down to find the gold-bordered cover had no title either. And when he opened it, the pages were blank.

"What the—" Numb fingers dropped the book, which hit the library's hardwood floor with a sharp bang. After a second, he shook his head. Why was he reacting so strongly? It was just a book…

He bent to pick it up again, and blinked. It wasn't black, but dark blue. And it did have a title: _The Collected and Translated Works of Jack London_. He opened the book again and there were words. He'd read it for a foreign literature course last summer.

Raito shook his head and put the book back on the shelf. Maybe Wakana was right. He definitely studied too much if he was starting to see things.

#

Writing Soukichi is really hard. Like… he gets barely any screentime in the duration of the show and movies, and for just about all of that he's being unbelievably badass. How write in normal situations. I am confused.


	3. Connections

**I'm so happy reading the reviews this is getting =3 I know I don't reply to all of you, but rest assured I read and squee over every one of them! It took a bit longer than usual thanks to unusual circumstances, but here's your next chapter!**

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The sleek black compact fit snugly into the parking space, and Raito undid his seatbelt before looking at the driver. "You didn't have to give me a ride, brother."

Kirihiko Sonozaki, formerly Kirihiko Sudou, smiled. "It's not a problem, Raito. Gotta balance teasing and favours with little siblings." He looked out at where they'd stopped, marked by a small sign. "Why a detective agency though?" His expression became concerned. "Nothing's wrong, is it?"

"No, no, everything's fine. I just... I guess I'm curious. Private detectives aren't very common." Raito got out of the car, and then blinked when Kirihiko got out as well.

"That's a good point." The businessman smiled. "I'm a bit curious myself."

Raito raised a brow. "Don't you have a shareholders meeting this afternoon?"

Locking the car, Kirihiko checked his watch. "I've got about fifteen minutes before Saeko starts getting mad at me.

"It scares me that you can calculate that." Raito smiled as he headed into the building with his brother-in-law behind him. Kirihiko and Saeko had been married a little under a year, and in spite of the eldest Sonozaki child's strict nature, Saeko had never been happier in Raito's memory than when she was with her husband.

Once they got to the door of the agency, Raito frowned. Why _had_ he come here? It had only been two days since he'd run into Shotaro Hidari, and for some reason he'd felt compelled to seek the detective out. He shook himself from the reverie when he noticed Kirihiko looking at him funny. Smiling at his brother-in-law, the teenager rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a woman only a few years older than him answered the door. "Hello! … Oh" Her eyes landed (and notably lingered) on Kirihiko. "Um… are you here to make a request?"

Go figure. Women never noticed him when he was around Kirihiko. And just forget about them noticing Kirihiko's wedding ring. Raito cleared his throat. "No, we just..." He paused, looking over her shoulder to spot Shotaro, suspended mid-step and watching them.

"Raito. Didn't expect to see you here." He set a few papers down on something Raito couldn't see before addressing the woman. "Akiko, let them in. You're being rude."

"Eh? Oh right!" She stood aside to allow them entry, and Raito spotted the third body in the room, a man in a red leather jacket who was looking over the papers Shotaro had put down, but looked up when they entered the office proper.

"Sorry. This is Terui Ryuu, a superintendent with the Fuuto police department. The noisy one is Narumi Akiko, my boss' daughter." There was an indignant huff from the woman and a polite nod from the policeman.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sonozaki Raito, and this is my brother-in-law, Kirihiko."

Kirihiko bowed very slightly, his eyes glancing at the men before going back to Akiko. "My pleasure. I didn't know detectives came in such cute varieties." He grinned when Akiko blushed, and Raito rolled his eyes, though not before catching a slight twitch in Ryuu's expression.

Akiko shook her head and looked at Raito. "Sonozaki? So you're that really rich guy's son?"

He scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable as he always was when someone pounced on his family name. "I guess. It's no big deal though."

"Ah, this genius doesn't need the Sonozaki name to get recognized." Kirihiko nudged him and smiled. "He wanted to come out here just to satisfy his curiosity. Won't be happy til he knows everything on earth."

"Shut up, brother." Raito smiled back despite his words. "Shouldn't you be getting to work?"

"In a hurry to get rid of me?" Kirihiko looked down at his watch. "You're right though. Be all right getting home on your own?"

"Yeah, no problem." He'd probably end up taking a taxi, unless he really felt like bothering the household staff to send a car for him.

Kirihiko smiled. "I'll see you later then." He turned to the other three, again more particularly targeting Akiko. "Pleasure meeting you all." His smile dialled up to the 'charming grin' Saeko claimed made her fall for him, and Raito watched Akiko turn away while he resisted the urge to swat his brother-in-law.

Mere seconds after the door closed behind Kirihiko, Ryuu made his first real movement since Raito's arrival and stood up with the papers in hand. "Shall we get going, Akiko?"

She stared at him, clearly surprised. "I thought you said you had to wrap up that case."

"I can just drop these off with Inspector Makura before we go to the show." He gestured with the papers and raised a brow. "Unless you don't want to any more?"

"No, no! I'd love to! Shotaro, tell dad where I am if he gets home before I do!" She grabbed Ryuu's arm and pretty much skipped out of the office, leaving Shotaro and Raito alone.

Raito pressed the fingers of one hand against his bottom lip, staring after the two for several seconds before he looked at Shotaro. "So are those two...?"

The detective put up both hands in a shrug. "Sometimes even I'm not sure." He picked up a few papers Ryuu had left behind and moved to set them on the desk in the back of the office. Raito took the opportunity to actually study the place. It was pretty cozy, with a little kitchen, a sitting area, and even a bed in a little curtained-off cubby.

"Nice office." He hadn't really meant to say it aloud, but he saw Shotaro smile. His eyes moved past a game table to a second door, with several fedoras hung on it. Curiosity overriding propriety, he crossed to it and pushed it open. It only went about two feet before catching on something, and Raito had a feeling he knew why: the room beyond was filled with boxes and miscellaneous junk. So much that with only the sliver of light from the office, it was impossible to see beyond a few feet.

Shotaro appeared at his side, then, and pulled the door shut. "Ah, don't mind that. It's a storage area that's kinda gotten out of hand. Don't know why we can't keep it tidy..."

"Maybe it's meant for something else." Shotaro blinked at him, and Raito shrugged. "Seems like a waste of space."

Shotaro eyed the door. "I guess. We don't really need much space for the office though."

Raito nodded. He didn't really know what had compelled him to say that. Something about the dusty, box-filled room made him sad. The same way walking past the empty, less-used rooms of the mansion made him sad. He'd long since given up figuring out why, and Shotaro seemed happy enough to change the subject.

"So what did your brother-in-law mean, you coming here to satisfy your curiosity?" Shotaro crossed the office to sit in one of the kitchen chairs, Raito following far enough to lean against the wall that separated the office more or less in half.

"I'd never heard of private detectives in Fuuto. Just wanted to know what it was like." He glanced around the interior office, taking in the binders of case files, the various books, and the tidy desk. "I'm studying American law right now, and part of that is comparing it to the Japanese system. This is a way to compare the private sectors."

Shotaro snorted, shaking his head. "You sound like you're writing an encyclopedia." Before he could comment further, the phone on the desk started ringing, and he hopped off the chair to go to it. "Excuse me." Raito nodded politely before Shotaro picked up the phone. "Narumi Detective Agency… Boss? Yeah, just a sec…" He grabbed a pen and notepad from the desk. "Okay, go ahead… alright… Hiyama Nori? Got it. I'll head over there now." He hung up and turned back to Raito. "Sorry, gotta go work."

"What's the case?" Raito had drawn closer over the duration of the phone call, stopping just shy of reading the notepad over Shotaro's shoulder.

The detective pocketed the information he'd jotted down. "A few days ago, one piece of a pair of family heirlooms was stolen from Nozara Nahoko. She came to us to find the culprits and get it back… Boss has a suspect, but he can't leave Nahoko alone. There have been threats to her safety from those wanting the other half of the set."

"So you're going to question one of the suspected thieves?" And making it sound like a regular day at the office. Raito wasn't sure if he should consider the guy admirable or insane, but either way... "Mind if I come along?"

Shotaro had grabbed his jacket, but tripped over his own feet when he spun to face Raito at the question. He barely caught his balance in time. "What? This isn't guaranteed to be safe!"

Raito grinned, dodging past him to head for the door. "Don't worry, I'll make sure my family doesn't sue you if anything happens!"

"That doesn't make anything better!"

Even without looking, Raito could feel Shotaro glaring at his back as he followed him out of the office.

~~~

Despite his initial attitude, Shotaro didn't make any more protest as he led Raito up and down Fuuto's busy downtown streets. The detective didn't hesitate even once, and Raito remembered, during the phone call, that Shotaro had only spoken to confirm the name, not any address. "You know Fuuto pretty well, then?"

"Yeah, spent my whole life here, got to know everything." Shotaro's smile showed more pride in the city itself than in his knowledge of it. "What about you? Your family's been in Fuuto for a while, haven't they?"

"Since before I was born." Raito had to scramble a bit to catch up as Shotaro made a sharp turn. "I don't know the city very well, though. I prefer reading to exploring."

"Seriously? Man, a kid your age shouldn't be spending all his time indoors…"

Raito chuckled as they made their way past Matsukaze Cemetery. "You sound like my sisters... Hm?" He turned, realizing Shotaro was no longer beside him, but stopped several feet behind and looking into the cemetery with narrowed eyes. "What's wrong?"

Shotaro blinked, rubbing one hand over his eyes before looking at Raito. "Sorry, thought I saw someone I knew. Come on, we're almost there."

He led Raito past the cemetery and towards an apartment building. "Hiyama lives here. Boss said he usually comes home this time of day..." Shotaro scanned the area, stopped when his eyes landed on a middle-aged man in a worn business suit sitting on a bench just in front of the building. "That's him. Come on..." He paused, turned halfway to face Raito. "But let me do all the talking, okay?"

Raito smiled, though he wasn't sure if it was his safety or Shotaro's own pride that prompted the warning. "Sure."

They approached the man casually, Shotaro standing directly in front while Raito kept himself to one side and behind the detective. "Hiyama Nori?" The change in Shotaro's voice was almost imperceptible, but definitely there. This was his job, and he took it seriously.

The man in front of them didn't look particularly impressed. "What do you want?"

"Just to ask you a few things. I'm a detective investigating the loss of some property from Nozara Nahoko. It was stolen from her home three days ago."

Nori eyed Shotaro, then Raito, before snorting. "I don't know a damn thing about that."

"Don't you?" Raito ignored the look Shotaro gave him, which perfectly combined surprise and annoyance, in favour of keeping his eyes on Nori. He'd really meant to let Shotaro do the talking, but this suspect was being so painfully obvious. Raito stepped forward, his arms crossed. "You definitely recognize the name Nozara." He pointed to Nori's right hand, fingertips digging into his left sleeve. "Your grip tightened as soon as her name was mentioned, trying to stop yourself from fidgeting, maybe? Nori started glaring at him, which only made Raito smile. "And you're only making eye contact to look angry or deny involvement. You're trying to intimidate us, but the rest of the time you're averting your gaze, trying to hide your deception."

Nori lashed out, his fist missing Raito only because Shotaro yanked the younger male back. "Damn it, I don't know anything about any dumb statues!"

Raito blinked, and Shotaro stepped forward with a thin smile of his own. "I never said the stolen property was a statue."

It took two seconds for Nori to recognize his mistake, not long enough for Raito to move out of the way before the man shoved him back into Shotaro and ran.

Raito felt Shotaro's hand on his shoulder, stabilizing him before the detective rushed past after Nori. "Hey!" Age and fitness gave Shotaro the advantage, and within a few seconds he was grabbing Nori's jacket, blocking the man's attempted punch, and laying him out with a solid blow to the solar plexus. Nori collapsed, and Shotaro glared at him. "Just relax down there for a while." He looked up as Raito caught up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He glance down at Nori. The thief had passed out. Only then did it really occur to him how it could have gone if Nori had been carrying a knife or gun, and he looked back at Shotaro. "Is it always like this?"

"Well, they pretty much always run. Boss and I have gotten into some pretty big scraps." Shotaro took out his phone, holding up a hand to apologize before he dialled. "Yo, Jin-san. I've apprehended one of the thieves in the Nozara case... No, he hasn't talked yet. Could you send someone so I don't have to carry him? I've gotta call Boss and let him know... You'll do it? Thanks, Jin-san." He hung up and turned back to Raito. "You still want to hang around?"

It only took one glance at Nori for Raito to make up his mind. "No, I don't want to get in the way of your work… Oh." He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "I do want to know how the case goes though. I'll give you my number."

"Oh, sure." Shotaro retrieved his own phone, and they swapped for a few seconds, each inputting his number to the other's contact list before returning the phones.

Raito glanced at his phone's screen before he pocketed it again. Shotaro had put himself in under only his first name… Raito had done the same on the detective's phone. He disliked attaching the Sonozaki name to himself everywhere, but who knew why Shotaro had left out his surname. The detective certainly didn't seem to care, smiling away. "I'll give you a call when this all gets sorted."

"Thanks. I've gotta sort out how I'm getting home." Raito laughed, mostly at himself, waving with the hand that still held his phone as he turned away. Even as he left, a police car was approaching to give Shotaro and his suspect a lift.

He ended up calling a taxi, and once he was home, he retreated to the library for as many uninterrupted studying hours he could get, his phone resting on the end table beside him.

It was just over three hours later when it rang, vibrating off the table before Raito's hand snapped out to catch it and flip it open. "Hello?"

"Hey, Raito? It's Shotaro."

He smiled, putting his book aside as he leaned back in the chair. "I figured. So did you close the case?" It was a redundant question, given the self-satisfaction he could hear in the detective's voice, but it probably gave Shotaro a sense of pride to answer it.

"Yeah, Hiyama gave up his accomplices pretty fast. We found the second statue in their possession and the phone that was used to leave threatening messages for Nozara. The heirlooms are back where they belong and those guys will have plenty of time to think on what they did."

"You sound like you're rehearsing the closing scene of a crime show." Raito snickered as Shotaro sputtered indignantly. "I'm glad, though. Not all cases wrap up so neatly."

"You don't have to tell me that… You were really helpful today, though. How'd you know Hiyama was lying so fast?"

Raito frowned, running his free hand through his hair. "Whenever I'm around people, I spend more time watching them than I do interacting with them. My sisters say it's a habit I have to break, but it's made me pretty good at reading body language. Hiyama wasn't being very subtle about it."

It was Shotaro's turn to laugh. "You'll have to teach me about it sometime. I'm a terrible liar."

"That's not a bad thing, Shotaro." Raito smiled, remembering something Wakana had told him. "It might get you into trouble with a girlfriend though."

"Yeah, like I've got time for that." There was the sound of shifting, and new voices in the background of the call. "I've got to go. Akiko's back and she's definitely going to give me the third degree about the case."

"Alright. Talk to you later."

"See ya." Raito hung up, putting his phone back on the end table. He was just reaching for his book again when there was a voice from the doorway.

"Raito."

He nearly jumped out of his skin, but relaxed when he looked up. "Mom. Didn't hear you come in." That was nothing new. Fumine Sonozaki had been a ninja in a previous life; everyone who knew her was convinced of that, including her husband and children.

"Didn't mean to startle you." She crossed the room to stand beside his chair, running her fingers over the titles of a few of his books. "Where were you today? I saw you leave with Kirihiko."

He shrugged. "I went to see a friend I met the other day. He's a detective, so I wanted to learn a few things about the private sector of law enforcement from him."

Fumine's hand drew away from the books, joining her other arm in crossing over her chest. "A detective? Isn't that a dangerous sort of job?"

"Seems like it. He told me he and his mentor get into fights with suspects a lot." He blinked as he heard her sigh, her hand lowering to touch his shoulder.

"Raito, do be careful. I don't like you going into situations that could be unsafe."

He nodded, patted her hand. "Of course, Mom, don't worry about me."

She nodded in return, hands going back to her sides. "I'll let you study."

He watched her go with his head slightly tilted. He knew his mother cared, but he figured she'd have been happy he'd managed to make a friend, rather than wary of that friend's occupation. Shrugging once again, he re-opened his book, though in the back of his mind he wondered what kind of case Shotaro would get next.

#

Fun fact: the name of the cemetery, Matsukaze, means 'wind through the pines'. I took it from the name of a screenplay about two sisters whose souls cannot depart to the afterlife due to their obsessive love for a man.

Character trivia: Nori Hiyama uses the 'ore-sama' pronoun and speaks very roughly and rudely. Given that he's a dirtbag who plays the businessman to get close to valuables, that's no surprise.

This chapter brought to you at 4:30 in the morning! Because I am a total wacko and still completely awake at this hour! =D Next chapter, we answer some of the questions I'm sure you all have!


	4. Outside in the Truth

**Once again, thanks for the reviews! I'm really excited to see how everyone reacts to this new chapter, 'cause it's time to give a glimpse of what I'm really up to.**

#

Akiko stood in the hallway, her arms wrapped around her body in a tight self-hug. She couldn't hold still, alternating between leaning against the wall, pacing the width of the hallway while checking in both directions, and looking into the windows of the nearest room, as if the repetitive ritual would somehow summon a change in her surroundings.

She was midway through one of the pacing rounds of the ritual when Ryuu came into her line of vision. She dashed for him, stopping just shy of a collision. "Ryuu, how did it go?"

He shook his head, gaze averted so he didn't have to see the wave of disappointment that crashed over her. "I'm no closer to an answer than I was when we started. The victim's comatose, and no one we've questioned has given us any leads... None that have gone anywhere, anyway." Raising his eyes to her again, and trying not to cringe at her downcast features, he nodded towards the room she'd been standing next to. "What about here? Any change?"

She turned to follow his gaze over her shoulder and heaved a sigh that somehow left her looking even more morose than before. "Nothing. See for yourself."

They walked to the door together, and Akiko pushed it open. The general murmur of hallway noise was hushed somewhat compared to the steady beeping coming from two monitors in the room. Heart monitors, attached to the occupants of the hospital room's two beds: Shotaro in the one closest to the door, Philip in the one next to the window.

Akiko stepped inside first, her arms returning to their self-hug position. "The doctor says there's nothing wrong, physically. Their brain activity is just like they're sleeping..." She stood at Shotaro's bedside, reaching out to touch the detective's hand.

"But they don't wake up, just like the victim we found." Ryuu collapsed into the chair across from the beds and pressed his fist to his temple. "If we'd just caught that Dopant..."

She frowned, looking up from Shotaro's still face to her husband's grimace. "You can't blame yourself, Ryuu."

—

It had started three days earlier. The four of them had gone to a movie, and on the way back Shotaro and Philip were talking (arguing) about the credibility of the action.

"Whether they hit the concrete or get caught, humans can't endure the sudden arrest of momentum like that. No way they'd walk away from it." Philip was calm but insistent, one hand under his chin while the other gestured airily.

Shotaro sighed. "Philip, don't apply physics to a superhero movie. Anyway, we've survived falls like that." He jabbed a triumphant pointer finger at his partner and smirked.

Philip pushed the hand down. "We were transformed. That comparison doesn't hold." He smiled in turn, and Akiko shook her head.

"Are you two going to drop this any time soon?"

"Doesn't look like it." Ryuu smiled, walking close at her side as he watched Philip move on to the actual effects radiation would have on the human body, all while Shotaro made helpless gestures to Fuuto's clear skies.

Shotaro was emphatically defending superpower-free western heroes to Philip when they heard the scream. It only lasted a few seconds, definitely a woman's voice, and cut off abruptly.

A single heartbeat was wasted in surprise, and then they bolted, Shotaro and Philip in the lead. It didn't take long to find the source; as soon as they whipped around a corner into an alley, they saw it. A woman no older than Philip was sprawled on the ground, unconscious, and over her stood a Dopant. It was at least six feet tall, smooth skin coloured mostly blue-grey, pastel purple and green on the variations. The instant it saw them, it took one look at the alley's dead end and then charged, almost knocking Shotaro over before dodging past the other three.

"Hey, get back here!" The Double Driver was already in Shotaro's hand as he and Philip gave chase. "Terui, Akiko, take care of the girl!"

Ryuu nodded, already pulling out the Beetle Phone as Xtreme shot past his head to gather Philip's body for Double's strongest form. Then both Dopant and Kamen Rider vanished beyond the alley's mouth, and Ryuu's attention turned to the young woman his wife had knelt beside.

"She's still breathing." Akiko gently rolled the victim onto her back as she looked her over for injuries.

Ryuu just nodded, already dialing 119 and waiting for an answer. "This is Superintendent Terui with Fuuto's unusual crimes unit. I need an ambulance."

While he gave directions to the operator, Ryuu listened to the sounds of Double battling the Dopant in the street beyond. He hung up when the ambulance was confirmed on route and crouched beside Akiko. The battle sounds faded. The Dopant had probably fled beyond his hearing range.

It was only four minutes before they heard the ambulance arrive, and one of the paramedics came jogging down the alley. She frowned at Ryuu. "You didn't tell the operator there were multiple victims, Superintendent."

He blinked. "What?" For a moment he looked down, meeting his wife's worried eyes, and then they both ran out of the alley.

Two other paramedics were present, knelt beside two more bodies lying side-by-side on the street. Ryuu and Akiko's hearts almost stopped. "Hidari… Philip!"

Akiko bolted from her husband's side, nearly skidding in her rush to kneel next to her friends. "Shotaro! Philip!" She almost grabbed Shotaro before one of the paramedics pulled her away

Ryuu's eyes were roving their surroundings, but it was no use. There was no sign of the Dopant responsible for this.

—

Ryuu slammed his fist into the wall behind the chair, forcing himself out of the memory. "Damn it…!"

Akiko jumped at the sound, but moved to his side, gently prying his fist open so she could slip her hand into it. She squeezed. "It isn't your fault."

"I should have been fighting with them." At least then he could have seen what happened, had some kind of lead on the Dopant's abilities rather than stabbing around in the dark as he was doing now.

"And if the Dopant had gotten you too?" She rested their entwined hands on his shoulder, her free hand brushing bits of his hair away from his frustration-wrinkled brow. "At least this way we can try to help. What did you learn about the victim we found?"

Ryuu smiled at her, just slightly. Even worried as she was, she was trying to keep his spirits up. "Her name is Fukuzawa Haruna, a part-time secretary at a security office. I spoke to her parents, and they told me she's been trying to get into Fuuto University's law program, but she failed the entrance exam. Her boyfriend, Ueshima Ichiyo, passed the exam, and broke up with her a few days ago, apparently."

She frowned, head tilting to the side as her free hand rested on his other shoulder. "Sounds like she's been having a rough time… Why would someone go through the trouble of getting a GaiaMemory to attack her?"

"The only suspect I came up with was the boyfriend, and he has an alibi with multiple witnesses." He sighed, leaning back in the chair with his thumb brushing back and forth on Akiko's knuckles. "I think, whoever the Dopant is, they may not be directly connected to Fukuzawa."

"You mean they had the Memory before?" She looked away from him, back to Philip and Shotaro. Again her fingers tightened around his, her eyes dropping to the floor. "Why? First the Commander Dopant and now this… How did we not know about Memories this strong?"

He stood up, squeezing her hand and moving his free arm to hug her to his chest. "We know about this one now. I'll find out who did this."

Releasing his hand so she could put both her arms around him, Akiko sighed, her head on his shoulder. "I know you will."

They remained like that for a while, drawing comfort from their closeness. Eventually Ryuu pulled away, kissing his wife's forehead with a small smile. "I'm going to ask the hospital if there are any other patients in this condition. If the Dopant isn't connected to Fukuzawa, there have probably been other victims."

Her expression brightened at that. "And if we find the first victim, we'll find the Dopant!" When he nodded, she grinned. "I'm going back to the office to pick up a few things, so I'll catch a ride with you."

He tilted his head. "Didn't you already bring clothes for them?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to get some of Shotaro's books to read to them." She looked back at the unconscious detectives. "Philip researched comas once. He said that some doctors believe hearing familiar voices helps draw the patients back."

After a moment, Ryuu nodded. "Good idea. Let's go."

He left the room ahead of her, and she spared a moment to look at her friends. "Just wait, you two. We'll get you back."

She left the room, closing the door with barely a noise before heading for the main doors at her husband's side.

#

Trying a new method of dividing scenes, because this site is very particular about what punctuation it likes and what punctuation it devours, causing my writing to stop making sense. Hoping the em-dashes have more luck surviving. R&R! And feel free to guess at the Memory you think is responsible for this tangled web I'm weaving.

PS: Wow, two uploads within 24 hours. I think that's some kind of record for me.


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